Middleweight debutante Anthony Johnson (10-3) this morning tipped the scale closer to light heavyweight, coming in at the UFC 142: Rio weigh in a big 12 pounds (5.44kgs) overweight and at risk of not fighting.
While it has been common for fighters to miss weight, with Nate Diaz needing an extra hour to lose a required pound at UFC 141, it is very uncommon that a fighter has been more suited to fight in the next weight class.
Luckily for Johnson, competitor Vitor Belfort (20-9) has agreed to the fight (generally the other fighter can decide whether the fight will or won’t go ahead in this situation) on the provision that Johnson does not break 205 pounds, making it difficult for Johnson to rehydrate in preparation for the fight.
While it seems unprofessional as fighters are aware of the weight they must be upon entering the fight, weight cuts are definitely one of the worst aspects of a fighter’s preparation for an event.
The cut generally takes the entire last week of the training camp to effectively make the ideal weight with little risk to the body and generally involves limited food and liquid intake, salt baths, saunas and sweat suits – anything that encourages the body to disperse excess liquid.
Medical examiners are on hand to make sure athletes’ aren’t affecting organs such as the liver and kidneys, and will at times rule that no more weight can be cut further for fear of permanent damage.
For the moment news has been coming out of the Johnson camp indicating that Johnson himself fell ill three hours before the scheduled weigh in, and had been on track to make the 185 pounds required.
Apparently, the UFC doctors decided that Johnson needed to rehydrate and gave him liquids which resulted in the weight increase.
It will be interesting to see how this event has affected Johnson’s psyche going into the bout with Vitor Belfort; especially given it is in Belfort’s home country.
Additionally the troubled weight cut may physically impact his strength and cardio. It may be expected that we see a sluggish Johnson in the cage.
For the future Johnson must re-evaluate the decision to fight at middleweight and look at the light heavyweight division, especially if the cutting of weight is causing permanent damage.
Jay
Guest
He was sick, but only because he mismanaged his cut and tried to lose too much in the last 24 hours. The whole episode was entirely his fault. Agree with you about moving him to Strikeforce though.
ErinT
Roar Guru
It certainly does help the fighter who agrees to fight an "overweight" fighter, check out Dana White's video of when he told Belfort of the issue if you get a chance, Belfort's face says it all. The reason for the cut is the fact that this is the third time it has happened and he even moved up and still missed weight. Obviously there must be some sort of problem in his camp for it to be a recurring issue, and he should look at what Overeem did, and that was compete at his natural walk around weight. That way there is less stress in the cut. turbodewd - For the Sydney card, there are some great fights listed. Sure, it's not a PPV or doesn't have high-profile household names but as we have seen in the past, these cards are at times more entertaining (especially with the flyweights added!). Also the fighter's name that escapes you is Phil Davis :) . That card is going to be great - 3 strong fights in Davis/Evans, Munoz/Sonnen and Bisping/Maia
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
I think it helps the other fighter be more generous when they are offered a percentage of their opponents purse if they still accept the fight. If the stories of Johnson being sick I think cutting him is fairly harsh. I mean he didn't exactly cover himself in gold in or outside of the octagon this weekend but he moved up to middleweight in order to better manage his cuts. I think they should either offer him a much lower down the card fight or move him over to Strikeforce who are really crying out for more depth at all their weight classes.
turbodewd
Guest
Not only did Johnson lose, hes been cut from the UFC for failing to make the weight...again. The upcoming Sydney UFC card is looking ordinary, its not even listed as a full UFC 14x - its UFC on FX. Roll on Jan 28 for some FTA UFC on FOX of Rashad vs that other guy whose name escapes me.